VIA Promotes Driver Development

Chip manufacturer VIA has announced a strategic Open Source initiative for Linux driver development.

The company is looking to cooperate with the Linux community on programming accelerated drivers for 2D, 3D and video output on platforms with VIA CPUs. An official discussion forum will provide a network for developers and users. A new website will provide beta versions of software and a bug tracking system. The Taiwanese vendor is looking to release quarterly updates in line with kernel and major distribution release cycles.

VIA has announced the launch of its new website at http://linux.via.com.tw for later this month. The site will give programmers access to drivers, technical documentation and source code for the VIA CN700, CX700/M, CN896, and VIA VX800 chipsets. The executive director of the Linux Foundation Jim Zemlin said that he was “delighted” about VIA's announcement in the press release here stating that "This action will open up exciting new opportunities for accelerating open source innovation around VIA platforms and ultimately delivering a better user experience."

There is hope for Ubuntu users with Intel graphics. As it appears, the current 2D drivers solve most of the recent graphics problems with Intel chips, according to Ubuntu developer Bryce Harrington in a developer mailing list. Jaunty users should profit it from them as well.